The Maharashtra government on Friday announced that it has allowed retired employees to retain government accommodation beyond retirement if their children are pursuing school education.
However, it introduced stricter safeguards to prevent employees transferred outside Mumbai from continuing to occupy official residences.
Under the new decision, a retired employee whose child is studying in Classes 1 to 12 can retain government accommodation until the end of the child’s academic year, subject to submission of prescribed documents and payment of licence fees at five times the existing rate, reported PTI.
The provision applies to government residences under the General Administration Department (GAD) in Mumbai as well as other government accommodation across the state, the order said.
According to PTI, the state government said that the measure was being introduced in line with provisions concerning the vacation of government accommodation by retired employees. The rules will also apply to employees who have been compulsorily retired or dismissed from service.
Different timelines based on retirement date
For employees retiring between January and June, the extended stay will be permitted until the end of June of the same year if their child is pursuing school education.
Employees retiring between July and December can retain the accommodation until the end of June of the following calendar year. For instance, an employee retiring between July and December 2026 can stay until June 30, 2027.
The government made it clear that the accommodation must be vacated immediately after the permitted period. Failure to do so will invite action under its June 3, 2026 government resolution (GR) governing the vacation of official residences.
Stricter rules for employees transferred outside Mumbai
In a separate order issued on Friday, the government moved to plug another loophole involving employees transferred from Mumbai to other parts of the state.
The GAD noted that employees of regional offices under various ministerial departments are allotted government accommodation in Mumbai according to their entitlement. However, some continue to occupy the residences even after being transferred outside Brihanmumbai, reported PTI.
In several cases, the concerned department or the Public Works Department (PWD) is not informed about the transfer, making it difficult to initiate action.
Transfer orders to be linked to government housing
To address this, departments must flag the transfer orders of employees who have been paying licence and service charges for government accommodation through salary deductions when they are transferred outside Mumbai.
The concerned drawing and disbursing officer will also have to obtain a certificate from the GAD confirming that the employee has vacated the government residence.
The certificate must accompany the employee’s final salary bill and be sent to the office where the employee has been transferred, the news agency reported.
No allowances until accommodation is vacated
Until the certificate is obtained, the employee will not be eligible for house rent allowance or the travelling allowance payable after transfer from the new office.
If such allowances are paid despite the requirement, the amount will be recovered from the concerned drawing and disbursing officer, the government said, reported PTI.
The government has also prescribed a certificate for employees who were transferred to Mumbai but never took possession of government accommodation.
Their drawing and disbursing officers will have to certify that they were not availing themselves of such accommodation when they are subsequently transferred outside Mumbai.
Both orders will apply to government residences under the GAD in Mumbai as well as all other government residences across Maharashtra, it said.
(With PTI inputs)
* This article was originally published here
No comments:
Post a Comment